Things are pretty good at the London Stadium at present. We’ve gotten over a rough patch and, whilst everything isn’t perfect, we’re in a far better position than we were, say, a year ago. Under Manuel Pellegrini, we’ve got some stability, and on the pitch, we’ve got some tremendous players.
As per BBC Radio 5 Live (via the official West Ham website), Brooking said of their potential partnership: “Now Lanzini – my favourite player – came back at the weekend and was excellent. You’ve seen people [in Rice’s position] who knock it backwards and square and if you’re an attacking player you want to get the ball in good positions to people like Lanzini. You do need that holding midfield player to place it between people and give you a chance to get them on the half-turn and get at the defence.”
He continued: “And that’s what Declan is getting better and better at. His defensive duties are terrific and he’s got a couple of goals in the last month or so, which is excellent, but that forward passing is something which is developing all the time”
Essentially, what Brooking is saying is that in order for Lanzini to flourish, he needs a proactive, technically gifted and positive midfielder behind him – and that’s exactly what Rice is. He’s always got his head up and he’s looking to make something happen, and that’s only going to allow Lanzini to pick the ball up earlier and make magic. And that means the same thing for players like Felipe Anderson, too.
Much has been made about Rice’s ability in the defensive third, but Brooking clearly thinks that he can also have a huge impact in the offensive phase, too, and that’s what’s so exciting.
Of course, Brooking would know a thing or two about how to best make use of talented attackers, so it will be interesting to see how Rice and Lanzini work together.
Thoughts?
